Authorities’ blunder sinks potential diver’s Olympic hopes
Dulanjan Fernando - Diving into dreams, while his country leaves him treading water
Sri Lanka’s top diver Dulanjan Fernando has made a heartbreaking decision that could change the future of the watersport in the island nation. The 25-year-old, who was widely seen as the country’s best hope to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, has rejected the renewal of his World Aquatics scholarship due to the
Sri Lankan government and Sports Ministry failing to fund his travel for international competitions.
“It’s like swimming against the tide,” said a frustrated Fernando, speaking from Toronto, Canada, where he has been training under the World Aquatics scholarship programme for the past two years.
“I cannot bear the burden alone anymore.”
Fernando was offered a three-year scholarship extension by World Aquatics, which would have secured his training, food, and accommodation until 2028. But the deal required the
Sri Lankan authorities to cover his travel expenses for world competitions — a promise that was never kept.
“I rejected the World Aquatics scholarship renewal and informed Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) because it’s hard to cope without funding from Sri Lanka,” Fernando said.
“I have spent the past two years with hardships. Now, it’s enough. I don’t like to deal with Sri Lanka anymore.”
Fernando’s disappointment runs deep. While World Aquatics plans competition schedules a year in advance and expects national federations to handle athletes’ logistic and other plans, Sri Lanka has failed him every step of the way.
“The Director General of Sports promised me funding approval. But when I spoke to the Sports Minister, he didn’t even know what World Aquatics was!” Fernando recalled in disbelief.
“How can you run sports in a country like that?”
Sri Lanka has not produced an Olympic diver since Janaka Biyanwila’s participation at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Fernando, a proud product of Royal College, Colombo, appeared to be the one to end that three-decade drought. Under the World Aquatics scholarship, he achieved outstanding results, including a gold medal at the Australian Age Diving Championship in Gold Coast with 271 points and a bronze at the Toronto Provincial Summer Diving Championship with 254 points in the 3m springboard event.
“My dives are already at Olympic level. I just need to polish up my performance,” he said.
Incredibly, Fernando has funded his participation in every competition over the last two years from his own savings — over USD 10,000, by his own account.
“I broke a national record last year, took part in the World Championship, did everything. But this year, I missed the World Cup — a place no Sri Lankan diver has ever gone — because I couldn’t afford it,” he explained.
The injustice cuts deeper when one learns that Fernando is on the Sri Lanka Sports Ministry’s official High Performance List, a programme meant to support elite athletes.
“But I get nothing from it. It’s all show and no substance,” he shrugged.
Sports experts fear Fernando’s rejection of the competitions could badly damage Sri Lanka’s reputation in the eyes of World Aquatics.
“If athletes keep turning down scholarships because of poor local support, future generations won’t stand a chance,” one former official, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Sunday Times.
World Aquatics, which schedules athletes’ participation a year in advance, reportedly questioned Fernando whenever he missed events.
“It creates a bad image for Sri Lanka. Soon, they’ll hesitate to offer scholarships to Sri Lankan athletes,” Fernando admitted.
Fernando’s current three-year scholarship ends in August. Tired of the endless struggle, he plans to migrate to Australia, where he’s already received offers to train with Diving Australia.
“It’ll be a burden off my shoulders,” he said.
“But deep down, I still want to represent Sri Lanka. That’s my ultimate dream, even if people don’t treat us well.”
If a sponsor or the government steps in before August, Fernando would gladly renew his scholarship for three more years, giving Sri Lanka a real shot at having a diver at the 2028 Olympics.
“Even if I migrate, I’ll compete for Sri Lanka, spending my own money if I have to,” he vowed.
“But without competitions, this training here in Canada is useless.”
Fernando’s story is a reminder of the uphill battle faced by talented athletes in small nations. It is high time Sri Lanka’s sports authorities stopped turning a blind eye and started backing their athletes.
“They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” Fernando smiled bitterly.
“But here in Sri Lanka, we can’t even afford a pair of flippers, leave alone shoes.”